Got a few things more done. As I told you I got the axles installed and torqued. CSM says 35 ft/lbs on one page and 40 on the torque spec page. So I did 40.

Then came the fun part of installing the rear brakes. All parts going back on are new with the exception of the anchor guides, slack adjusters and struts. Those were all restored earlier. My buddy Dale came over and helped install them. It went a lot faster and it was fun to have someone to talk to at the same time. So about 45 minutes later, both sides looked great - now I have brakes. Well not quite.


I think the contrast on the drums looks very nice




Now I needed to attach the brake lines and center hose.

 

Now that the shoes and hardware are installed, they need some brake fluid running to them. Got out the center brake hose I bought a month ago and went to attach it to the housing. You're kidding! The hole in the brass is about 1/32 too small to fit the bolt..


Measured the bolt shoulder and it's 9/64. So I got out my drill and did some surgery. After re-reaming a new 9/64 hole the bolt drops through just like it's supposed to. I sure hope there are no surprises waiting for me on the other end.


So now I can go ahead with the brake lines on both sides and snug down the hose. I found the lines were just a little off on some of the bends, but not enough that I couldn't tweak them to fit perfectly.


Both sides are now held in by nut and welded axle tab




So now this thing is about ready to put in the car. A lot of guys I've talked to say to put the diff fluid in when the axle is in the car. Glad I didn't. See next post.

 

Well prolly just cause I noted the angle of the diff not only in my pictures, but before I took it out. So I was more inclined to put the fluid in while the diff bung was much easier to access.

So, I unscrewed the bung plug. (I know that just sounds bad doesn't it?) In goes 1 L (2pts US) 80/90 gear oil. Then the posi additive. Then the next L of gear oil. Strange. It should be full - even overflowing but it's not. In fact I can shine a light in there and see the level; and my finger doesn't even get wet when I stick it in the housing.... AHHHHH, problem solved. Brian Trick to the rescue. I asked him about this curiosity. Answer: (and I bet none of you thought of this either) The W27 cover increases the amount of gear oil needed to fill it!

Anyway, I'm just closing up the bung and out of the corner of my eye I see some 'honey' coming from the pinion cover.. Oh Shyte!!! NOW WHAT??? Only thing I can think is the darn pinion seal failed. Not a happy camper now!! I was planning to have this installed last night while the garage was still at 60°. You'd never be able to guess from looking at the outside...NOW I'm really glad I didn't bolt it in and fill it. That would have been just enough to send me off the deep end with all the issues I've had with this sucker.

Called AD this morning and told them I had an urgent warranty issue and told them what it was. "oh - just leave it with us and we can get it done today or tomorrow". NOT LIKELY BUDDY! I'll be there in 1/2 hour and I want it done while I wait. In fact, I'm going to watch you guys do it to see if you even put a seal in there!

I wrapped my baby in old blankets and taped everything tight with duct tape for the ride to AD. Didn't want any scratches or damage to the housing or axle tubes or brake hardware.


When Jack and I lifted the unit, gear oil started pouring out the pinion housing like a river! I had visions that there wasn't even a pinion seal in there.

Got it loaded carefully and down to AD. Told them I'm not going to leave it because this is their workmanship at fault and I have a time line too. Pull someone from somewhere - this should only take 15 minutes. Buddy tried to give me a song and dance but I held my ground. I WANT TO SEE THE SEAL NOW! So we went back to the shop and watched the yoke nut and pinion cover come off. You would not believe what they did! Some MORON had used a cold chisel to set the pinion seal in and it was so badly damaged it would be the same as not having one. Buddy says 'looks like we F'd up'. Right back at ya 'buddy'. You sure did. Fixit. So I watched while it was being done. Their shop people don't seem to be very well trained or care much about their work. So it's done.

They were going to load it into the truck and I said no. I want the gear oil topped off. Too much of it was lost when they were moving it around. They didn't really want to do that but again I held my ground. Besides, I paid for it when I got the diff rebuilt there. Told the tech to be careful pumping the gear oil in because it's almost full AND I didn't want gear oil all over the new paint. Gloooooch. There's a good 1/2 cup of gear oil running all over my new paint. I wanted to hit him. Film at 11. Allan R arrested for beating minion with a pinion!

In spite of wrapping the diff carefully, they still managed to scrape it on the bottom. Didn't see that till I got home.


I will NEVER recommend them to anyone. I sure hope to heck the shims and backlash don't ever need to be touched.

The only good thing is that now I should be able to proceed with re-installing the diff. Bloody cold outside right now and there are light flakes of snow. This is really not good.

 

Thought I'd throw in a quick update. The upper control arms are in and the braces are hanging off them for right now. It's been really cold (I'm not kidding you - lots of wind and temps around 12) for quite a while now.

I was working with the Coleman stove running for a couple days. I think that's a bad idea. Even though I had the side window open an inch for ventilation I was starting to feel light headed and was coughing a lot. So I shut it down for awhile.

Going to look at Homely Deepo and Costco for one of those 10K Watt electric heaters that runs off 110. That won't make the garage into an oven but it will prolly raise the temps to at least 60 (garage is insulated) which I can easily work in.

Just changed the car's over to winter tires this morning. Took 2 hours to do all 8 wheels and put the summers back in storage. Thank God for impact tools. With 3 layers under my coveralls I was toasty out in the wind. Fact is when I got in my shirt was soaked. Say what you will, coveralls are like Red Greens secret weapon for car DIYers. They really don't let wind through and do insulate well.

 

Well , I'm glad you held your ground and didn't hit him ! If I didn't have kids , and needed a job so bad , I would of !

 

I hear you Allan...and feel your pain. I went thru something similar with my rearend rebuild. Cleaned & primered it and paid to have it 'professionally' built, brought it home and did final paint. Then I went to swap the stock cover for a W-27 replica ...only to notice that they had installed one of the main caps on backwards. I ended up buying tools , getting info (huge thanks to Brian, Jim, Eddie & others!) , and replacing shims/setting lash myself (it wasn't right) because 1. Their shop was 1.5 hrs away, 2. It was in final paint, & 3. I didn't trust them anymore...

Seems like its almost impossible to find quality work anymore.

Even the dealers for our newest cars can't seem to perform the work as described. If I don't stand over them, they'll half-*** whatever work they do perform & then try to BS their way out of it.

Hopefully this was as bad as it gets and it'll be smooth sailing now!

 

Indy, thankyou. I went to your thread and had a great read. Now that I think even more about the 'quality' of the work that was done the more I think I should have bought the tools and done it myself. Hindsight is 20/20 sometimes. I know I could prolly have bent Jim or Brian's ears to git'r done. The only thing I might have had some trouble with is pressing on the new oil seals and bearings on the axles. At the price of the shim packs and contact paste I could afford to practice using the old carrier and ring gear, then graduate to installing the posi.

I have the same gear set you have now. Jim sold me a series 3 posi to make this work. It's reconditioned and he also pressed on the bearings to save me the trouble. Didn't read what engine you have, I still have the original 350/350 combo. It will pull a little harder off the line and run higher rpms but shouldn't be any problem for the power team.

 

So this morning I fired up my new garage heater. Only took about 1/2 hour and the garage was around 80. Had the ceiling fan blowing down, but the concrete slab takes a long time to warm up. That means working under the car will still be cool. Not freezing at least.

After the temp equalized at around 70 I fixed the scrapes on the diff housing and started with the prioritization of diff install.
*all new CA bolts/nuts (except for front lowers which will stay OEM because they are a different length)
*new shocks
*upgraded boxed lower control arms (all CA's have new bushings too)
*new spring cushions / repainted rear coils (still good for ride height)
*new brake hose
*restored body braces
*rear stabilizer bar
*and of course - newly rebuilt and detailed 3:42 rear differential.

So everything is organized and ready.
The rear brake hose has been clamped off for a couple months to avoid drips. Now it's time to replace it. Popped off the front retainer and rear clip without much problem. Took a bit of time but finally got a 7/16" flare nut onto the nut. Brace the other side with a 5/8" and tried to bust it loose. No dice. Used my little propane torch to heat the flare nut. Still nothing. Let it cool down and soaked it with penetrating oil. Tapped it, then sprayed more PO on it. Letting it sit for awhile.

I don't want to round off the flare nut. Because of the new paint under the car I'm hesitant to use a lot of heat on the nut. It's concentrated in one spot though. Not exactly sure how much heat is too much.

Any suggestions? I know this is like doing front brakes only difference is there's nowhere near as much room to work with.

 

Allan, Be careful in an enclosed garage with your heat. Don't want this wonderful thread to end with you getting carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas heater

 

Thanks for your concern Jim
I know what you mean. Probably should go out and get a CO detector and install it. I've got a very bad headache right now and I don't usually get headaches.
This is what I got:


And this is what it did in a little over 1/2 hour with the ceiling fan blowing down (theory is to push the heat down to the floor)


Needless to say working on the cement slab is still cold. Not terrible though. If it turns out that the heater is putting out too much CO for me to deal with I'll shut this project down till the spring. I plan to be around to finish it; just hate the cold weather that's been plaguing me for the past almost 3 weeks.

 

Just got a co2 detector for home and shop....feel safer ....$22 apiece.
To keep the floor warm, I reverse the fan ...that is I pull the cold air up which allows for a more even temperature profile in your space. I blow out a lit match and place it next to the wall to make sure the flow of air is up the wall not down.........
That heater looks impressive! Would a smaller one have sufficed?

Ted

 

Brake line fittings are a pain. They always seem to be permanently seized while they're on the car. I've never had a line wrench that worked well. I usually end up cutting the less important part off and then using a socket. Then they pop right off. The only thing that I've had any success with on problem fittings on the car is Vise Grips, but that pretty much guarantees the part will need to be replaced. My solution has been when I start working on brake lines, I just bite the bullet and replace them all.

 

Well, truth of the matter is I wanted the smaller one just like this model. It was rated at 25000BTU. Only...there weren't any left in all of Edmonton. The one I bought was the last one Homely Deepot had! Sort of like "Pass Time" I decided to go big! This one starts at 50,000 and goes up to 80,000. Rated to heat a 2000 sq ft space. I'm only 1/4 of that. So I run the heater for 10 minutes and leave it off for 25. Keeps things pretty warm. Joanne came out to the garage and said it was hotter in there than the house. I did try reversing the fan but it doesn't make the floor warmer.

LOL, How did you know I have a complete set sitting in the shed? I was trying to avoid having to do brake lines in the cold. Was talking to a friend of mine down in MD who gave me some good tips. But like you said, these are not in the friendliest place to work on them and that's the original brake hose. I wonder how much it's damaged from being clamped off all this time?

 

Finally after a LOT of struggle I got my son to come out and help me with the differential. The problem I had was balancing it side to side while manoeuvring it under the car.

So finally it's sort of in position. Ha ha on me. Don't install the shocks even loose before you try to fit this in there. Another wasted 5 minutes I'll never get back taking out the shocks.

With some gentle moves the diff got hoisted up into position. I pulled down the Upper Control Arms to seat them on the housing ears. No problem. Ooops spoke too soon. The bushings aren't lining up with the holes in the CA's. So for now it's going to sit like this overnight till I figure out why. It could be that the angle of the diff is too tilted right now. I needed a break anyway. Couple pics are a little blurry but the fourth one you can see how the ear is 'off' .

 

Alan, wow, I can not believe the magilla gorilla used a chisel to do the install, at the very least he could of used a large socket! cretins, getting back to your upper control arm attachment what you are describing is a direct result of the chasis being up and the rear being hoisted, try using your second jack to push he "nose" up a little by the pinion, I used a tapered drift to sneak into the opposite side ear and kind of pull it into position, then once you get the bolt in ( I tapped mine with a medium size mallet not a hammer) you can remove the drift and place the second bolt in... it is a little precarious putting the rear end in supported only at the pumpkin, you might also slap the rims and tires on so if it drops you have some clearance and it doesn't slam down on the floor completely, and have we mentioned to be careful? take your time and if you can get another set of hands in there to help you tweak the alignment it would be much easier, I managed to do mine by myself, using the method above... go slow and watch the pinch points

 

Just looked at this again, put the drift,in the driver side and pull down ( which will lift it enough) put one bolt in the passenger side and gently tap it in...

 

Well, after a regroup I went out yesterday and got the garage ready to work in. When the temp was about 65, I got into my coveralls and started getting back to the issue. BTW, when my son was helping me and I had to give up? He went on his computer and made this thing for me; I think it kind of hit the nail on the head. It made me laugh and took away some of the tension/frustration


Anyway, it was a new day. First thing I put in my head was not to get upset or frustrated. Work methodically and with purpose. Makes for slower work, but man it got results.

One of the big issues was the angle the differential was sitting - noticeably up at the yoke. So I carefully eased each of the securing straps a little at a time to get the housing and yoke angle more in line with where it should be. This resulted in the ears rotating forward slightly past an eccentric part of the casting and allowed the bushing to seat more centrally.
I know it's kind of hard to see the relationship of angle in this pic. I had towels and rags all over the housing to keep it from getting damaged during the install.


Ear position on DS shows the axle needs to move slightly forward to line up the bushing hole


I wiggled it forward with my knee while watching the bushing line up. I had a new CA bolt ready to insert. Soon as I saw the CA and bushing line up, I pushed the bolt in. I was expecting to have to knock it in with a mallet but to my surprise it slid all the way through without any effort


I repeated this process on the other side UCA and to my delight the bolt slid home exactly the same. So it turned out that the differential NEEDS to be in very close to the same position it will be functional at in order for the CAs to receive the ears on the housing.


At this stage I was feeling very good about the install. Put a new locking nut onto each of the bolts a couple of turns and left it for then

 

Good job.

 

With the UCAs in, it was time to tackle the lowers. NOTE: remember which way they go in. Duhhhh yes I know they only go in one of two ways. What I mean is check where the sway bar holes are. Don't ask how I learned this time consuming tip.

So off to the races. I found it easier to install the LCAs by attaching the rear bolts first then lifting the front into the mounting flange. ANOTHER TIP: The front control arm bolt is longer and has a flanged head that you DON'T get with the repops so make sure you keep the front one when doing the disassembly. Now, take that bolt and a small piece of shop towel and press the 3/4" socket onto the head of the bolt. It will be snug - which is exactly what you want. It would be a real PITA if the bolt slipped off the socket in the frame rail. Use a small flash light to guide your view of the bolt into the opposite side frame rail. Adjust the position of the LCA and pop that sucker in too. I couldn't take pics of doing that because it's too complicated to do while holding the flash light and socket. Trust me though, that tip for securing the bolt works like a charm. Soon as the bolt goes through the control arm and body brace, secure it a couple turns with a nut. Repeat this process for the other side.


The old rusty resonator clamps and exhaust will be replaced next year. The light quality was pretty poor so the pics don't show all that well. One thing I like about the new e-brake cables is they have a thick rubber adjustable bushing where they go over the lower control arms. Less likely to wear badly like the old ones did.


Now for the springs. Dusted them off from sitting so long. Remember to keep the jack under the pumpkin still. I found that inserting the new rubber insulator onto the collar worked better than putting it on top of the spring and hoping it lines up. Covered the axle tube with cloths to avoid scratches. Then push down about 3" on axle tube and the spring slides right up into place. Release pressure and the spring is nicely seated on the axle mount.


Now for the other side. It will not be as easy since you have one spring in place. Here's what worked really well for me. Use another jack and lift up on the wheel drum about 2-3". This will drop the other side of the axle the corresponding amount. Almost too easy. So the springs are in and you can move on? NOOOOOO. According to the CSM, the springs now have to be oriented to the axle. There's a diagram showing this. So I rotated both springs to have the same angle at the upper pigtail. This shot also shows the new rubber isolator properly in position


If you forget to do this, you can still rotate the springs later as long as you don't have weight on them. Not sure I understand why the springs need this orientation but I'm doing this the way the CSM says to.

 

Now it's down to the final stages. Shocks, tight up the CA nuts and we should be coming down the home stretch looking for a win.

Shocks on both sides were really not that hard. With all new hardware AND air tools this job only took around 10 minutes. The hardest part is getting the stupid 1/2" nut lined up above the shock mount. That's such a ridiculous setup. Anyway, once they were started I got out my 1/2" Craftsman box end and locked it onto the top nut. With a long extension and 1/2" socket I used my air ratchet to git 'r done. Honestly, and this is no slam against anyone who still uses armstrong wreching, air tools are the way to go. Fast and convenient. After a while you can start to 'feel' how tight something is even through the handle and adjust the trigger tension accordingly.

With the garage door open, the natural light shows the car a lot better.

Right side:


Left side:


And yes, for some dumb reason I decided to use anodized Gr 8 nuts/bolts


All the control arms are supposed to be torqued to 80 ft/lbs. For right now I just put the air ratchet to them and snugged them down. At a guess I would say they're around 50-55 ft/lbs. Plenty to hold in place and lower the car onto. The final 30 needs to be done with body weight on axles. Again, the air ratchet made very quick work of this.

Decided to take a pic of the car sitting with it's refreshed axle assembly. The axle is horizontal, just right now the one jack stand has more padding on one side making it look higher. Overall it's looking really good. Next to go on will be the rear sway bar.


Now, the sway bar. I needed a time out on this bad boy. Unpacked it and got all the hardware ready. Inserted the bolts on one side and lined up the bar. Went in pretty easy. I'm starting to think all my troubles are done. NOPE! On the other side, the sway bar WON'T fit. Not a happy camper now. I ordered this sway bar almost 3 years ago and it is supposed to fit a 64-72 A Body. I went with the 1" bar instead of 7/8". Does anyone know the trick to installing these?

Based on rough measurements between the CA's the width at the back should be around 40 1/4" This one looks about 1/2" too big..

 

Ummmm did I miss the install on the HD suspension supports? The ones that go to the upper control arm mount to the bottom?

 

Is that rust I see ? Great Job BTW .

 

Allan I am sorry if I am being a PITA but looking at the photos again, do you have the pigtails pointed in the right directions? there were specific pictures in my chasis manual and with the replacement springs I received from Moog, I mean now is the time to double check all this stuff....

 

Yes, they are in. They were done when I put the upper control arms back on. Trust me, with the exhaust in the way it's a real PITA to get to those upper nuts. Needed and extension with a universal close to the socket. I thought I had a pic of that but I don't. What I can tell you is that the brace on the PS was very easy to install. The DS was slightly out of square to the Control arm and needed a little help conforming. A good 3/4" socket and air ratchet made it see the world in a whole new perspective. Beats the heck out of wrenching by hand.

Duh, of course it's rust. That is the muffler bracket. Not to worry - it will be coming out when the exhaust is replaced next year. Then it will all be nice and shiny under there. Thanks on the comment.

No worries Eddie. These are springs that I refinished. They are still proper ride height for the car. According to the CSM on page 4-1 (figure 4.1) the pigtail on the upper end of the spring MUST point to the right side within a 15° arc limit. And they are. Both springs are oriented exactly the same. If I ever need to align them more? Just have to drop the axle to full extension. The springs will rotate by hand without any weight on them.

 

Tic-toc-tic-toc, Allan it's looking great. I bet your wife has been looking over your shoulder and wondering when she will get her side of garage back. I feel for you bud.

 

Huh? Wutcho 'tok' n bout? Got it done yesterday; well mostly done. Anyway it's sitting nicely on all 4's again. Looks pretty much like she has it back to me. Took this around 1:30 this afternoon. Was up at 0500 this morning re organizing the garage and vacuuming it. Warmed it up to 70 and drove her baby in after I de loused it from all that snow.

 

Well, I guess this thread is going into snooze mode till spring. I'll revive it when the weather warms and the gas tank/bumper/sway bar get installed.

Thanks to everyone for watching and offering advice/comments/laughs. Now I have to put together another picture album on de ol profile page.

And to all those who warned me that I'd never get it done in time? Ya, you were right. Chalk one up on the calendar....

 

Well done Allen, and I bet momma's happy to have her baby back under cover.

BTW, it's called thread hibernation, can't wait for spring to see what you have planned next.

 

Great job Allan. The thread is very informative and well explained....you must have been an instructor of some kindLooking forward to the spring....or maybe OldMan Winter will hiccup!

Ted

 

From permalink 604: I knew I put it in there somewhere!

 

Nice job all around Allan, sorry about your sway bar woes, it'll get sorted, I am sorry I missed that about the attaching of the supports, mine I am sure went in much easier, as there was no exhaust.

We got some snow added to the hurricane woes but it is suppose to get back into the upper 50's lo 60's this weekend, I am still planning on getting the quarters on before hibernation, but I am sure we don't get Canada cold down here lol , my sis lives in Ottawa and she was trying to convince me that it is about the same as nj ummmm no lol it really is a great thread and I think the best part of it is how you have dealt with the trials and tribulations it documents what we all face during projects

 

Nice work Allan!

 

Allan...great to see the Silver Surfer back on 4 wheels and properly tucked away on the far side of the barn (safe from harm). It was awesome following your progress on the thread and even better that I got to see some of it in person too!

 

Allan, It's been interesting following your "disaster". Nice job with everything! I will look for it again in the spring.

 

looks awesome Allan...

 

One last tidbit to add. Remember back in August I ordered that car cover from Big Sky? It's been sitting in the front seat for all this time. Just got the garage warmed up. Cleaned the paint with a damp micro fibre cloth then got Graeme to help me install the new cover. It has elastic on the ends to make it a tighter fit, and there are grommets I didn't bother to tie since it's inside. It's even labeled on the front side just so you don't put it on wrong . It actually has the right contours for the 442 fastback. My baby can sleep all nice and tucked in now in her 4ply cover. It really feels soft on the inside - just what you want against your nice paint.



This is more natural light - had the big door open, but not long; it's freaking cold outside. I like having the car up on the dollies for winter. Gives me more room to store stuff underneath. Plus in an emergency I could push it outside.

 

The car cover I have has elastic on it too , but i'm sure it's not as good as the one you have . ( I Bought mine at farm & fleet as a one size fits all deal ) There was a cord sewn into the cover that went to the bag you stored the cover in when you weren't using it . You would then close the bag into the trunk , so the cover wouldn't blow away in high winds . I got tired of putting the cover back on the car , so I would clamp it in four spots where the cover was thick , so it wouldn't rip .... One memorable moment was when the cover blew off , and then it snowed and then froze . I had to wait for the ice to melt to get the cover off the frozen ground leaving the car completely exposed to the elements .

 

Same idea Bryan. Only this is a custom cover and I likely paid a lot more than the one size fits all model. This is also specifically an indoor cover - not designed for outdoors. It also does not have a bag like you describe - too heavy for that.

 

Allan, is this up to date? I found this when I first joined CO but never finished reading it. Im going to finish reading it this w\e. Just want to know if there is more to this in some other section. Thx.

 

Jim, I put the thread into hibernation over the winter. I'll be reviving it and finishing it off this Spring. Unfortunately I don't have the great weather you do